From the author of New York Times bestsellers Contagious and Invisible Influence comes a revolutionary approach to changing anyone’s mind.

Everyone has something they want to change. Marketers want to change their customers’ minds and leaders want to change organizations. Start-ups want to change industries and nonprofits want to change the world. But change is hard. Often, we persuade and pressure and push, but nothing moves. Could there be a better way?

This book takes a different approach. Successful change agents know it’s not about pushing harder, or providing more information, it’s about being a catalyst. Catalysts remove roadblocks and reduce the barriers to change. Instead of asking, “How could I change someone’s mind?” they ask a different question: “Why haven’t they changed already? What’s stopping them?”

The Catalyst identifies the key barriers to change and how to mitigate them. You’ll learn how catalysts change minds in the toughest of situations: how hostage negotiators get people to come out with their hands up and how marketers get new products to catch on, how leaders transform organizational culture and how activists ignite social movements, how substance abuse counselors get addicts to realize they have a problem, and how political canvassers change deeply rooted political beliefs.

This book is designed for anyone who wants to catalyze change. It provides a powerful way of thinking and a range of techniques that can lead to extraordinary results. Whether you’re trying to change one person, transform an organization, or shift the way an entire industry does business, this book will teach you how to become a catalyst.

The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind Reviews

David Wineberg

No one is ever satisfied with others. Everyone wants others to change. It’s the way of the world, from social programs to closed-minded managers to sales reps to elections. Everyone wants everyone e...

Nicole (Read Eat Sleep Repeat)

Have you ever wanted to change someone’s mind? Of course you have! The premise for The Catalyst is that pressure or pushing people often doesn’t get them to do what you want. But utilizing catalys...

Jake

I liked the psychological tips for better communication. I didn't love the business/marketing speak, although most people who read this will dig that side, I suspect. It gave me a few things to ponder...

Dora Okeyo

Have you ever come across any content on "The Art of Persuasion?" Now, this book right here is 194 pages of intrigues and exploration of the things that bar people from changing. I love how the author...

Kristen

Really interested dive into what prevents people from adopting new ideas, and how to nudge them along. (Hint: it's not spewing more facts at them.) Definitely want to revisit these ideas and work on a...

Rima

This book is well written and easy to understand. The examples provided were practical and backed by good research. There was nothing super surprising to me, pretty much human nature. Some spots were ...

Marta

This is a quick read and provides a good overview of ways to overcome resistance, but the examples and case studies seem very oversimplified....

Kathy Cowie

to be reviewed in the March-April issue of Global Business and Organizational Excellence....

Roxanne

The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind by Jonah Berger was one of my pre-pandemic book grabs knowing I’d be holed up for awhile. I mean, tough to resist the temptation to become a Svengali, rig...

Thomas

In chemistry, the purpose of a catalyst is simple: to reduce the energy needed for a reaction. In his third book, marketing consultant and professor Jonah Berger applies this concept to his world of m...

About Jonah Berger

Jonah Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and bestselling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On and Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior.